Away From the Fishbowl

This is Sunnyslope Church -- a small-medium sized church, tracing her roots back more than 50 years in the city of Salem, Oregon. This congregation started as a gathering of mostly-Dutch immigrant dairy farmers.  Hard working, and devout, the congregation remains true to her history, but has changed in important ways, especially over the last few years. I've been privileged  to serve here since I graduated Seminary, and was ordained into the ministry, in late 2006. Those were the days when, as a recent seminary graduate, I knew all the answers, and most of what it meant to be a pastor. All I lacked was the wisdom and experience that come with some time in the ministry -- minor details, right? Eleven years later, and I have far fewer answers, but hopefully a bit more wisdom and some experience to go with it. The idea of a Sabbatical was first brought up a few years ago; I was in the middle of my Doctoral program, and one of the members of our Church Council wonde...

What is a sabbatical for pastors?  According to our denomination (the Christian Reformed Church) it is this:  A sabbatical is a change or a break from the normal routine. It’s an opportunity to step back, reflect, relax, recharge, and renew. Why sabbaticals for pastors?  Because pastor burn out is very real.  Consider these statistics also from our denominational website: 1,600 pastors quit or resign from their jobs every month Nearly 20 percent of pastors suffer stress or burnout 50 percent of pastors become divorced I was a pastor's kid (i.e. PK) in the 1980's and 1990's.  This was during a time period when sabbaticals were not common.  I daresay if they were the norm, more pastors might have stayed at their churches beyond the five year mark.  Many moved on to avoid burnout.  For some churches, it might have been necessary and brought new growth for that particular congregation.  Other churches, pastors, pastor wives, and pa...